Malfunction
by lovinMaya
Summary: "This was, needless to say, one of the most uncomfortable moments of Draco's life." Draco must help his son's bride with a major dress disaster on the day of the wedding. Please read, review, and enjoy!


**A/N:** This is something I've wanted to read for a while, but I couldn't find anything like it so I decided to write it! I hope you enjoy it:)

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**Malfunction**

Draco Malfoy was furious. It had to be on this day that suddenly, everyone in his life forgot the meaning of the word 'responsibility' and forced him to take it all on his shoulders. The caterers were late, and the maid of honor had to scramble to handle them. The florists had sent a thousand peonies, when the bride had ordered tulips, so the bride's idiot father was making a trip to the store to throw a tantrum. As if they had time for that. Her mother, meanwhile, was busy cleaning up a decorating charm that had gone horribly wrong and left the entire congregation hall covered in Stinksap. Almost every other family member had been called away to take care of some other stupid problem. Draco's own wife was in a panicked state over Scorpius's best man's hair disaster. So Draco was landed with the job of checking on the bride, Rose Weasley.

A feeling of dread creeping up inside him, Draco trudged slowly through the corridor towards the bridal suite, thanking Merlin that they'd chosen such an ostentatiously huge congregation hall. It wasn't that he didn't want his son to marry her. She seemed like a nice enough girl, and Draco thought she cared for Scorpius very much. The only problem was that he'd never actually spoken to her.

It was a miracle, actually, that no one had noticed. Somehow, they'd only met in family gatherings, and Astoria was such a chatterbox that it was easy for Draco to remain silent for hours at a time. Not to mention, Scorpius and Rose often enjoyed playing kissy face more than talking with their parents.

Finally, after what seemed like years, he arrived at her door. It was tall and wooden, characteristic of the building's ancient architecture, with a very plain plaque across it, the word BRIDE carved into it. Taking a deep breath, he raised his fist and knocked.

"Come in," called a voice that was, to Draco's horror, shaky and tearful. He gulped and pushed the door open.

She was sitting at a vanity table with the back of her dress wide open, her hair in a mass of curls around her face, which was streaked with tears. Black makeup (he wasn't sure what it was called—mascarpone?) was smeared around her eyes, giving her the impression of a horribly sad raccoon. Draco mentally cursed the Potters and the Weasleys and everyone else involved with this stupid wedding for putting him in this place.

"Mr. Malfoy," she mumbled, wiping her eyes and nose in the same swipe. Draco cringed; the makeup was now smudged over her cheeks as well. "What are you doing here?"

"Er—everyone else was busy," he said awkwardly. He had no idea what to do. Comforting people had never been his strong suit. "Is-is everything okay?"

Rose whimpered and looked up at him with big, brown, tearful eyes. "My dress isn't fitting," she whispered.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief. For a second, he'd been sure she had gotten cold feet and was about to Disapparate then and there. "That's okay," he said confidently. "You can just use an enlargement charm, can't you?"

With a screeching sob, Rose sank her head into her arms. Panicking, Draco looked around as if somebody might materialize and come to his rescue. She was trying to say something through her fingers.

"What?" he said uncertainly. "I didn't catch that, s-sorry."

"I d-d-don't n-need an en-enlargement charm," she gulped. "I'm t-too skinny f-for my d-d-dress!"

Draco's stomach sank; he knew very well the repercussions of accidentally calling a woman fat. As he looked Rose up and down, he wondered how he'd ever come to that conclusion in the first place. She had a slender, fragile figure; her bare back looked hopelessly bony beneath the bulky dress.

"I'm sorry," he said hastily. "But, er, you can use a shrinking charm, in that case. Can't you?"

Wiping her eyes frantically, Rose shook her head. "It's an expensive Egyptian fabric," she sighed. "It's got threads of unicorn hair in it. Charms don't work on it."

"Oh," said Draco lamely. She seemed to have stopped crying, and he was desperate to keep it that way, so he tentatively sat in the chair next to her.

"Might you have a backup plan?" he suggested quietly.

Hopelessly, Rose shrugged. "I suppose I can pop home and grab Mum's old wedding dress. I can definitely charm that to fit me."

Feeling slightly more confident, now that she seemed to be talking normally, Draco nodded. "All right," he said. "Would you like me to go and get it?" The prospect of stepping in Weasley's home was nothing short of disgusting, but the last thing he wanted was for Rose to have another meltdown.

"Yeah, sure," said Rose, nodding gloomily. "If Mum were here, she could've probably sewn it up the Muggle way. That would definitely work."

"Well," said Draco shortly, "your mother is…" He trailed off, a different thought blooming. A memory, faint but still there in the back of his mind…

"Mr. Malfoy?" said Rose, tugging at his sleeve, quite like a child would. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he said, his voice coming back to him, much stronger. "The Muggle way, did you say?"

"Yes," said Rose slowly, looking uncertainly up at him. "You can't do that, can you?"

Draco laughed. As if. "No," he assured her. "But I can do something else."

He drew his wand and flourished it brilliantly, and from the tip burst a sewing needle, a spool of thread, and a measuring tape. Pleasantly, they danced through the air and approached Rose's wedding gown.

"Er," he said. "I'm going to need you to step out of it, Rose."

She nodded and stepped behind the changing wall. In a moment, the dress was tossed over the side and Draco cast a quick Levitating Charm on it. Next, he spelled the measuring tape to behind the wall where Rose was and waited white she squealed as it wrapped itself around her. It bounced back out and spun itself around the dress. Immediately, the needle and thread took action and flew at the dress in an aggressive fury, attacking it with precision.

"Mr. Malfoy?" called Rose from behind the wall.

"Yes?" he asked. For some reason, he felt an odd twinge in his lower abdomen upon hearing her call him that.

"How did you know how to do that? Charm a needle to work, I mean," she asked.

"My mother used to wear dress robes made of similar fabric," he explained. "The house elf would use this charm to alter them when she needed it."

"How did you think of that?" she said. He felt pride surge through him at the note of awe in her voice.

"You said charms wouldn't work on the dress," he replied. "But a charmed needle will."

To his surprise, a giggle floated over the wall, giving him chills. That simple giggle made him feel strange and vulnerable.

"That's really cool," she said, and Draco heard Weasley in her voice. He had to stop tears from springing to his eyes.

"Thanks," he said. "Here, it's ready. It should fit now."

He turned away as she came out from behind the wall and slipped into the dress. Her squeal of excitement was enough for him to know his sewing had done the trick. Satisfied, Draco turned around—and nearly fell over. Rose had thrown herself bodily at him and wrapped her arms tightly around his chest. Hesitantly, he put his arms stiffly around her tiny frame. This was, needless to say, one of the most uncomfortable moments of Draco's life. And yet…

The way her body swelled steadily with her breath, the feel of her heart beating softly against his chest, the warmth of her arms around him gave Draco an odd sense of comfort. He'd always hated hugging, but this was different. The people in his family had been cold, and their behavior had always been forced, always backed by an agenda. Rose was warm, tender, and genuine, and Draco felt, for the first time, like someone trusted him.

She pulled away, smiling broadly. With a grimace, Draco realized that her face and hair were still a total disaster.

"I don't know any hair or makeup spells," he said automatically. "Should I get someone, or…?" His mind drew a blank as he tried to think of who wasn't too busy, but Rose merely giggled.

"No, don't worry about that," she said, shaking her head. "I'm a twenty-two-year-old girl. I've been doing hair and makeup spells for ages."

"Thank Merlin," Draco breathed, smiling at her. "I thought for a second you were going to make me do it by hand."

Rose threw her head back and laughed openly. "I would never!" she exclaimed. "You've done more than enough."

She took his hand and squeezed it gently. Draco twitched slightly, but didn't let go.

"Thank you," she said warmly. He smiled down at her and nodded. He was starting to really understand why his son had fallen in love with her.

"I'll leave you to it, then," he said, and made to leave.

"See you later, Mr. Malfoy," she called.

Draco stopped in his tracks. Slowly, he turned and looked his future daughter-in-law up and down. She looked downright gorgeous in her shimmering dress, though her hair was still in tangles, and makeup was still streaked all over her face. Her wide smile, though, full of hope and happiness, was what prompted him.

"Why don't you call me 'Draco?'" he suggested.

"How about I call you 'Dad?'" she responded, grinning cheekily.

For a moment, Draco frowned thoughtfully. "Actually," he said. "I'd prefer 'Father.'

She laughed heartily. "Wicked," she said, reminding him of Weasley once again.

Before the shock showed on his face, Draco ducked out of the room. It would take a while to become used to her affectionate, Weasley-ish personality. But, Draco thought as he sauntered back down the huge corridor, it was something he most definitely could get used to.

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**A/N:** A father-daughter relationship between Draco and Rose was something I thought someone could really use to develop Draco's personality a little. I wanted to be true to his character, and I didn't want to say things outright. I also really wanted to bring out Ron in Rose, because I thought that would upset Draco a little more.

I hope I've done a good job with them, and with this scene. Please leave me your thoughts!

~Maya


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